Can for preserving food products.



E. M. LANG; J11. om FOR PEESEBVING F001) PRODUGTS.

, Wiii essegz lqvenl'or:

To all l m i -mayconcemf- I Be it k own that .L'E LANGTJR I UNITED STATES oFrIoE.

- EDWARD M. Lantern, or PORTLAliTD, MAINE.

CAN FOR PRESERVING'FOOD PRODUCTS. 7

Specification of Iietters Patent. Patented Marj 1913.

Application filed May 31, 1912. Serial No. 70Q,7 28'.

of Portland, in the county of Cumberland andState of Maine, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Cans for. Preserving following is a specification,

00d Products, of which the My invention relates to the construction of cans for'preserving food products and for'othe'r like uses where it is desired to keep the interior of the can free from dirt or foreign substances before filling and sealing the same. Cans, commonly used for preserving corn, vegetables and otherfood products are made of tinplate with a stud hole or opening in the top through which they are filled. The

cans are usually made in large. quantities and previous to being used they are usually handled, shipped and stored under conditions which often result in the accumulavtions of insects, waste, chips and other forms of dirt: which must be eliminated'before the cans may properly be used. When this foreign material once enters a can of this type, having a relatively smalliope'ning, it is diff culttoclean it and to get out all the accumulated dirt,particularly by any rapid acting mechanical method of cleaning.

The aim of my invention is to prevent the entrance of'dirt and foreign substances into the can after-they are made and prior to the time they are used by providing a tempo-1 rary closure for the stud hole; 'secured in place by fragile connections which may be easily broken and the closure readily 're-v moved just before the can istobe filled. I

accomplish this result preferably by leaving 'in the stud hole of the can when. the top is 40' formed a disk-of tin which is only partially severed from the top, leaving the disk sur-' rounded by an incomplete annular slot with .one' or more fragile uncut portions which may be readily broken'do'wn' when the canis .filled. This temporary closure or disk may be entirely removed bysuitable means or it maybeforced inward'and left insidethecan, having been previouslymarked for identification.

.My -'nvention may best understood by referenceto the accompanying drawing, in

which I have illustrated can tops of the class mentioned and constructed according -tomyinvention.. I

- In the drawing, Figure 1 is an enlarged vertical section on the line we cf Fig. "2,

the top of a can, Fig. 3 is a verticalsection through a can top such as is used in canning evaporated cream, syrup and other liquids of that character which are filled through a Fig. 2 is a plan of the central portion of small hole. Fig. 4 is a section through a can showing manner of utilizing the disk as a label, and Fig. 5. is a plan View showing one manner of attaching thedisk to the edges of the. stud hole. I

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2,Arepresen ts the body of thecan, B is the top having the usual central stud hole. When the top is .formed the disk G which is usually. punched out to form the stud hole is left in place, an incomplete'slot b separating it from the body of the can top. The disk is connected with the top-by one or more uncut portions as 6, here' shovm as three in number. These uncut portions or bridges are small enough so that they is, the metal drawn-apart just suflicient to cut it or separate 'itand for all practical purposes it forms a tight closure which will are fragile or easily broken down to free the aq-g f his so narrow that its 7 exclude any form of dirt but will neverthe less admit air's'o that, the cans may be tested with the disk in place.

It will be seen that the metal cut to form the slot 12 is formed. into a corrugation and it is consequently under considerable internal strain along its top or bent portion.

The consequence is that as soon as .the'cutting die cuts through the metal, the cut edges tend to'pull apart to form a-distlnct and; we'll defined slot, the edges of which tend to spring back to a level.

It will be seen that a can made-with such a top as I have described may be stored or transported and handled without danger of collecting dirt or other foreign matter.

When the can is to be used the disk is forced in or-otherwise removed to. make room for filling the can. As before stated, f forced .3110 intosthe can it may be utilized asan identify ing means to indicate the manufacturer and may he allowed to hang down from the. top by rupturing all but one of the sup ports. Such a manner of using the disk is illustrated vin F-ig. 4, in which it is the regular cap and g the disk which has been ferced into the can leaving a single point of support by which it is suspended in the in terior of the can.

Any form of label may disk;

if desired, the disk may be forced entirely within the can. There are some instances where this construction may be used without the removal of the partially severed oiss. eeporated cream or syrup or other similar be printed on the liquids where the can is filled through a small hole, and the hole covered with a cap. in these cans it is desirable to have a vent to-allow the escapeof air as theliquid runs in. l have illustrated such a can top in Fig. 3 in which d is the filling'openin K16? forming. the top I partially sever-a dis in the C(Elli'cf of which is the'filling hole (2 conneeting portions being left as in the. can shown in F 1 and 2. The cap f covers the/disk d and is sealed in place after the can is filled, a suit-able groovebeing formed around the edge of the disk to receive the edges of the cap. Inthis case the slot acts as a Vent for the air, the disk is not removed but remains permanently on the can. There is a further advantage in having the disk left in when condensed milk and-other like material is canned, since the hot capping For instance, in cans for containing larly to be esser-e iron two thicknesses of tin underneath/ it and is less liable to scorch the contents than where a single thickness-1s used as in I the old process.

the cans are lacquered on the inside heiore being filled the lacquer will fill up the so that the can will he hermetically A temporary closure may be se ".1 the stud hole of the can otherwise as here shown but the connections must "le and easily ruptured as in the form 1g. 5 I show a disk ,7 temporarily sethe stud hole of the top a by means of drops of solder is.

iihile this invention is designed particuused with the common stud hole, it may he used with what are known as open tapped cans, that is, cans having an en-' larged stud'ho'le extending nearly out to the edge.

I claim;

A canhaving a top with an upwardly extending annular corrugation, said top having a disk partially out therefrom by an incomplete annular slot in the top of said oorrugation, leaving a plurality of rupturable connecting portions.v

In testimony whereof l have aflixed my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD M. LANG, JR. 

